Sunday, July 1, 2012

When he was
elected, I labeled the Barack Obama presidency the “second term of Jimmy Carter”
and I could not have been more right! The similarities are striking! The hallmark
of both the Carter and Obama administrations is economic turmoil, global unrest
and glaring ineptitude on the part of the President to address any of the
pressing issues facing the nation.

What’s the
old saying is a man is judged by the company he keeps? Here is yet another
striking similarity between Obama and Carter. As Edward Klein points out in his
latest book The Amateur – Barack Obama in
the White House Obama, much like Carter came to Washington with almost no
leadership experience and surrounded by an equally neophyte group of advisors.

Carter
surrounded himself with likes of rookie political strategist Hamilton Jordan,
corrupt businessman Bert Lance, former community organizer Andrew Young and liberal
academic Zbigniew Brzezinski. Obama has repeated that mistake selecting a cadre
of the ill-equipped, inexperienced and downright clueless senior staffers.
Washington, DC and the White House is no place for a huge learning curve.

Klein runs
down an almost frightening resume of ineptitude on the part of Obama’s primary
advisor Valerie Jarrett; who’s only apparent claim to fame is her ability to “fail
upward.” She started her political career as the “public black face” of Chicago
Mayor Richard Daily. Despite screwing up as a “city planner” and costing Chicago
millions in funding, she managed to land on her feet taking on the role of
executive director of a public housing project, with a salary and deferred
compensation in excess of three quarters of a million dollars.

The role of
these senior advisors is to guide any President around the pitfalls that
confront them on a daily basis. Klein outlines Jarrett’s seemingly
self-centered focus; more concerned with conserving and protecting her power
rather than aiding Obama. Either blinded by loyalty or cowed by his own
stupidity, Obama has been able to grasp the shortfall in his own team.

While his
status as a card-carrying amateur is certainly glaring when it comes to dealing
with the mounting economic issues facing the country, Klein points out that
Obama’s ineptitude is never more dangerous than in the national security front.
Clearly Obama lack of real world experience and his allegiance to an almost
childlike world view fostered by liberal academics has led to him on a global,
apology tour of the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

This lead
from behind approach has led to the glaring mishandling of hot spots like; Egypt,
Libiya, Yemen, and Syria, among others. He continues to send muddled, incoherent
messages on what role he believes the United States should play in world
affairs.

It is Obama’s
reliance on an organizational chart, top-heavy with un-vetted czars and his
apparent boxing out of advice from those members of his Senate confirmed,
Cabinet members that is striking.

The best
example of his apparent tone-deafness is illustrated by his endless rounds of
golf, to date over 100 rounds, and he and First Lady Michelle Obama’s
high-priced taste when it comes to world travel and high end vacation spots. At
a time when the much of the country is hurting and nearly half of U. S. households
are cueing up for food stamps, the Obama’s jet set lifestyle isn’t sitting well
with the average taxpayer. The defense coming from amateur advisors that “the
President deserves a vacation” rings very hollow. No one would begrudge the
President a break, but over 100 rounds of golf?

The Amateur – Barack Obama in the White
House is a scathing
indictment and a solid case for sending this collection of rank amateurs
packing back to Chicago.